Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Sacrosanctity

Sacrosanctity was a right of tribunes in Ancient Rome to not be harmed physically. Plebeians took an oath to regard anyone who laid hands on a tribune as an outlaw liable to be killed without penalty. The term comes from the phrase sacer esto ("let him be accursed") and reflects that violation of a tribune's sacrosanctity was not only a secular offense, but a religious offense as well.

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talk nineteen to the dozen

  to speak rapidly and without stopping